STAFFING & COMPENSATION STUDY How Organizations Staff Their Content Marketing Endeavors 2010

Job Title & Compensation

Specialty Roles vs. Communicators Summary  In the past decade, the task of producing custom content has shifted from being the role of generalist communicators to being the responsibility of those in specialty roles.  In 2010, 74% of the positions involved in custom content were specialty roles (editorial 52% and design 22%), a trend that underscores an increased focus on custom content and greater demand for quality.

Year-to-Year Compensation Summary  Average compensation for all types of professionals tasked with producing custom content decreased this year to $61,201, a 3.06% decrease from last year.  Since the beginning of this study in 2000, average compensation for all professionals tasked with producing custom content has grown 30.2% (or $14,652).  All three primary disciplines involved in custom content initiatives saw decreases this past year, 3.6% for editorial positions, 0.8% for communication positions and 3.1% for design positions.

Summary  No matter the specialty, it continues to pay to work at large organizations, as they compensate custom content staff by an average amount of 39.4% (or $22,740) more than small organizations do.  The largest gap in compensation is for individuals holding design positions with a difference of 51.9% (or $26,091) between large and small organizations.  The smallest gap in compensation is for individuals holding editorial positions, with a difference of 32.9% (or $18,732) between large and small organizations. Year-to-Year Compensation c Large vs. Small Organizations

Summary  As has been the case in the past, for-profit businesses tend to pay staff at a higher rate than do nonprofit organizations, although the gap between was its most narrow ever. In 2009, the average pay disparity was 7.3%, and it decreased to 1.3% this year, mostly as a result of for-profit pay dropping from $65,795 in 2009 to $61,786 in  This year, however, nonprofits are paying slightly more for design positions than are for- profits. The greatest disparity between the two types of organizations is in the 3.4% difference in pay (or $2,340) for communications positions. Year-to-Year Compensation c For Profit vs. Non Profit

c Anticipated Pay Increases Summary  Average anticipated pay increases for all positions increased from 1.69% in 2009 to 2.32% this year.  Anticipated pay increases have generally ranged from 3.0% to 4.0% during the decade, except during the recent two recessionary years, contributing to the downward trend from the all-time high of 4.01% in 2000.

Summary  The actual picture shows that anticipation often does not match reality, as seen in this chart that applies each year’s anticipated increase to the following year’s actual average compensation.  In 2009, the average pay increase for 2010 was anticipated to be 1.69%. Had that occurred, it would have brought the average compensation to $64,203. As it turned out, there was actually a decrease in pay of 3.06% in 2010, which brought the average compensation to $61,201. c Anticipated vs. Actual Pay Increases

Staffing & Productivity

Average Time Commitment per Person Summary  This year responders were asked to report the time staff spent creating other types of custom content as well as the time spent creating publications.  The average person involved in a custom content effort spent 56.3% of his or her time on the creation of publications.  The average person involved in a custom content effort spent 41.3% of his or her time on the creation of other types of custom content.

Time Commitment to Publications by Position Type Summary  There was very little change this year on the percentage of time spent on the creation of custom publications. In 2010 editors reported spending 64.7% of their time on creating publications, compared with 58.3% for designers and 37.2% for communications generalists.

Time Commitment to Other Content by Position Type Summary  As previously noted, this year responders were asked for the first time to report the time staff spent creating custom content other than custom publications.  In 2010 editors report spending 43.1% of their time on other types of custom content, compared to 35.7% for designers and 50.7% for communications generalists.

c Staffing in Custom Publishing Summary  The average company assigns 2.39 full-time equivalents (FTE) to its custom content initiatives.  Had FTEs assigned to other content been explored from (or other prior years), the results of this year’s data suggest that (a) FTEs assigned to other content would have more than made up for the decline in FTEs assigned to custom publications and (b) the decade- long trend of FTEs assigned to custom content activities would have moved up gradually.

c Hours Committed by Staff per Organization Summary  Another way to assess time allocated to custom content endeavors is to calculate the total annual hours spent by staff on custom content endeavors.  By this calculation, the average amount of staff time spent on creating custom publications decreased to 2,863 hours per organization per year, down 10.8% from  However, the average amount of staff time spent on creating other types of custom content was 2,100 hours per organization per year for a combined total of 4,963 hours spent on creating all types of custom content.

c Staff Costs Allocated to Pubs Summary  By combining wages and time expended, the amount of money organizations invested in staffing custom content projects can be calculated.  In 2010, the average company spent $84,457 in wages for the time its staff spent on creating custom publications and $61,813 on creating other types of content.  The average company spent a combined total of $146,270 in wages for the time its staff spent on custom content projects, up 201.2% since 2001 when the amount was $48,558.

Sponsors The Custom Content Council (CCC) is the lead trade organization representing custom publishers in North America. The research herein was conducted by the free newsletter ContentWise, the leading source of news, information, and research on the custom publishing industry. Methodology The research was conducted via a mailed survey targeting a random sample of for-profit and nonprofit organizations across all industries. More than eight thousand surveys were sent out and approximately 230 were completed and returned, producing a +/- 6.4% degree of accuracy at a 95% confidence level. Among the responding organizations were: ADP, CA Department of Transportation, Clariant Corporation, Clear Channel, Federal Bureau of Investigations, Hoosier Energy, Macy’s, Sirius XM Radio, State Farm Insurance, Steelcase Inc., The French Culinary Institute, and Thomson Reuters. More Information For more information on custom publishing, go to or call the CCC in New York by dialing To subscribe to ContentWise call or go to